Glenn McGrath is a proven No 11 with 34 Test ducks and a paltry average of 7.5 to his name, but when he strides to the middle in the first Test at the Gabba he will unveil a willow the like of which has never been seen in the modern game.
Weighing in at a hefty 3lb 2oz, his bat will be heavier even than those used by Sachin Tendulkar, the India batsman, or the big-hitting South African, Lance Klusener (both 3lb).
McGrath had asked his bat-maker to provide him with a heavy one for practice, reckoning that reverting to his standard bat (2lb 11oz) for games would enable him to play more shots. However, he then found his old bat too light so had another made to measure.
Australia have put the first runs on the board in the Ashes betting battle with more than £20,000 wagered with William Hill on the home side to win the series. In contrast, the bookmaker reports that the largest bet on an England victory has been a little more than £1,000, placed by Mike Nunn, 57, who emigrated to Australia in 1971 and admits to having lost the “equivalent of a year’s GDP of an average-size country” by backing England against his adopted homeland over the years.
Adam Gilchrist believes that any money staked on the home side is safe, though. He is confident that Australia are better equipped than in 2005, despite the withdrawal of Shane Watson, the all-rounder, from the first Test squad with a hamstring strain. “We’re still ranked No 1 and we took some good lessons from the defeat in England,” Gilchrist, Australia’s vice-captain, said. “I don’t think we were complacent, but I think we perhaps struggled to regain focus on that Ashes series after spending a number of years preparing for India.
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“The India assault became our holy grail for some time there and we managed to achieve that and tick that box off in 2004. I’m not quite sure we became refocused on the Ashes after that and that’s probably cost us a little bit in our preparations and planning for that series.
“We have reassessed now and sharpened up in various areas.”